Christchurch to Adelaide 2022 - A Tiki Tour with Claire

 

Sun 30 Oct – Claire picked us up at 3:45am and we drove to Gary’s and out to the airport. Surprisingly the check in area was chocka! People queued everywhere. Once thru to the gates the place was deserted. Very strange! We landed in Auckland in pouring rain and ran from domestic to the international terminal just in time for our check-in. Eventually we were on the plane to Adelaide exhausted, soaked and hungry. We dried out, relaxed, and bought a snack. A quick trip thru the airport picking up Claire’s bag, and caught an Uber to the Adelaide train station where we bought one way tickets to Smithfield near Gawler. Another Uber to Angle Vale where “Andy” was stored. Andy started first pop and we drove to a shopping area. Bunnings for a camp chair for Claire, Woollies for food, BWS for grog, and K Mart for some bedding for Claire. We checked into the same camp as we stayed in just before leaving last time. Everything achieved!!! Outside for (26C) for well earned drinks and into bed by 9:30pm. A long day when you take in the 2 1/2 hour time difference.

Mon 29 Oct – Our plan is to do a 10 day tour around the Yorke Peninsula (west of Adelaide), up into the Mambray Creek National Park and returning via the Clare and Barossa wine areas to the Adelaide beaches for a couple of days. The first part of the trip was north thru Gawler, where we rewarded “Andy” with a wash, and then west and south following the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula, to a great camp on the foreshore at Port Vincent. A walk along the beach and an ice-cream to finish the day. The forecast for the next few days is not great.

Tues 1 Nov – Woke to sun but the rain soon set in. We drove south in strong winds thru the coastal towns of Edithburg, Yorketown, Warooka, and Marion Bay to the Innes National Park on the southern most tip of the Yorke Peninsula. 

We called into the Visitor’s Centre for maps and advice. Our first stop was above the cliffs overlooking where the sailing ship Ethel had sunk. The southerly wind was horrendous whipping up spectacular surf crashing into the beach and cliffs but at least it was sunny. Our next stop was another great walk along the cliff tops to a lighthouse at West Cape with great views of the wild coastline. Fortunately the wind was blowing off the sea and we did not feel that we would be blown off the cliffs. We drove on to our camp site, fortunately sheltered from the wind. In the afternoon we did another walk with more spectacular sea views. The wild flowers were just starting to bloom. The rain started as we returned and set in for the night. Quite cold!

Wed 2 Nov – Just a short drive to an area where gypsum had been mined. We followed a walk past the old village and factory where plaster was made. We spied a couple of emus (mother and chick) on our walk back. A 60km drive back out of the tip of the peninsula to Warooka, where we fueled up and a quick shop, before heading west across the peninsula to the west coast at Port Victoria, our stop for the night. Another small town dominated by a long wharf. A great sunset over the water.

Thurs 3 Nov – We are tiki touring up the western side of the Yorke Peninsula with our first stop at Port Hughes where we walked out to the end of the wharf and watched an old guy catching blue swimmer crabs in a couple of traps. 

There are many paddocks of wheat and barley growing on this flat peninsula. The many ports, wharves and towns first existed to export the grain before the roads were developed. Our next stop was at Moonta and Moonta Bay. In this area copper was mined. Unfortunately the mine museum was closed but we walked the cute town which is Cornish themed, enjoying a cornish pasty for lunch. 

We stopped at the town of Wallaroo with its huge grain silos and conveyor system to load the ships. At the old Bond Store we sampled a paddle of beers all brewed locally. Our last stop was for the night at a camp at Port Broughton. We walked to yet another long wharf which we did not feel the urge to walk along! (over wharved!) It had been a sunny day, better than forecast, and we had pre dinner drinks outside.

Fri 4 Nov – Drove off the Yorke Pennisula to Port Pirie where we stopped to shop and fuel and on to Port Germein, with the longest wooden wharf in the southern hemisphere. (1680mts)

This was a very significant milestone in our trip around Australia as we have now joined up the line on our map. We turned into the hills and into the Mambray Creek National Park. We stayed here in 2018 and enjoyed it so much that we have brought Claire back. Our site overlooks the creek which with beautiful gum trees providing shade. It is now much warmer (not before time). We walked a short track up the Davey Gully and up to a view of the Spencer Gulf (3.5kms) Drinks & dinner outside at dusk watching the Kookaburas and Gallahs.

Sat 5 Nov – A family of Kangaroos visited us at breakfast time. Another beautiful day and we packed a lunch and set off up the Mambray Creek Valley for a longer walk. The creek was quite flooded and we eventually had to wade across it at many points on the track. At the head of the valley there was an historic shepherd’s hut. We climbed up a steep track, for a great view down the valley, where we stopped for lunch. Back down the valley, crossing the many fords, to our camp (9kms) and a relax in the sunshine drying our boots.

Sun 6 Nov – Out of the National Park and on the road by 9:00am heading to Clare Valley wine region. We had lunch at a park in Clare and picked up Claire’s hired bike, classic, green with a basket as requested! We cycled the Riesling Trail thru the beautiful wine country. On our return ride we stopped at Tim Adams Winery for a tasting and a cheese board. A really lovely way to finish off our 26km bike ride. We checked into the Clare Valley camp for the night.

Mon 7 Nov – We left the town of Clare and drove thru more vineyards and on to a tiki tour of some historic country towns and Silo Art.

 Beautiful rolling country. We drove on into the Barossa Valley stopping at Nuriootpa and visiting Maggie Beer’s farm shop. A great venue where we had Burnt Fig and Honeycomb ice-cream overlooking a lake at the back of her property.

Back on the main road to Adelaide and a very slow trip thru the city to our camp at Brighton. 230km drive today! Brighton is at the south end of the Adelaide beaches on Holdfast Bay. Glenelg is about half way along this bay. We went over the beach and discovered the sea was really warm so changed into our togs and had a swim at 6:00pm.

Tues 8 Nov – Now quite hot. Forecast to go to 33C today. Val and Claire hopped on the bikes and rode the 7kms on the esplanade cycle/walkway to Glenelg while I did some cleaning and vehicle checks. In the afternoon we spent some time on the beach swimming (x3) and reading. A real summer holiday! This is Claire’s last night so we walked to the local pub for dinner. Back at “Andy” we sat outside and watched a lunar eclipse and a blood moon.

Wed 9 Nov – We farewelled Claire as she caught an Uber to Adelaide Airport. It has been great having her here. 3 fit into “Andy” really well! Another hot day and we rode the cycle way to Glenelg in a strong head wind. Second time for Val! Glenelg is a quaint seaside village now a tourist town. There are a great mix of the original homes, multi million dollar homes and apartments along the sea front. The wind got stronger and we had to take down the awning and then had no shade over lunch time. Eventually the shade came around the camper but we got some short sharp showers. Ended up in and out of the camper but managed a swim to cool off.